There are numerous devices that require latches to secure such things as doors, windows and access panels, one example being a shipping container. There are also numerous latches available for such applications. However, they are susceptible to becoming inadvertently or undesirably opened due to jarring impacts, vibrations, or forced entry.
A latching mechanism developed in part to overcome the problem of forced entry is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,644,705. That latching mechanism includes a dead latching dog for preventing someone from prying open an inclined-face latch bolt used in conjunction with a dead latch in a door knob assembly. While this latching mechanism may provide some degree of security in the particular environment for which it was designed, it does not provide completely sufficient security, it is extremely complicated and costly, and it has little or no applicability to other situations.
Other examples of latch and bolt mechanisms are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,650,123; 1,516,628; 1,615,120; 1,910,102; and 2,499,107. These disclosed mechanisms likewise are unduly complicated, insufficiently secure and/or limited in their applicability.
Thus, there remains a need for a secure safety latch of simplified and cost effective construction that has broad applicability.